On the move

Chorion (London, England, 44-207-406-7406): Rachel Bader is the latest addition to the Chorion exec team, joining its ranks as licensing director for packaged goods and promotions. Bader's new role will see her working to maximize revenue and exposure of the company's brand portfolio in the Americas. Bader hails from Scholastic Media, where she served as director of licensing and consumer promotions.

Chorion (London, England, 44-207-406-7406): Rachel Bader is the latest addition to the Chorion exec team, joining its ranks as licensing director for packaged goods and promotions. Bader’s new role will see her working to maximize revenue and exposure of the company’s brand portfolio in the Americas. Bader hails from Scholastic Media, where she served as director of licensing and consumer promotions.

Cookie Jar Entertainment (Toronto, Canada, 416-977-3238): Cookie Jar is expanding its global footprint by heading into South Korea and setting up an office helmed by CJ Lee. The newly appointed VP of distribution will handle TV sales and develop licensing programs in the territory. He’ll focus on production and development opps in South Korea and throughout Asia. Through Cookie Jar’s licensing subsidiary CPLG, Lee will oversee L&M programs for a range of properties and expand the agent’s portfolio by sourcing third-party brands. Lee comes to Cookie Jar from GIMC, where he oversaw international co-pros and served as a creative producer and MD. Lee also gained experience in production and product development for animated brands through his stint as MD and co-owner of Starburst Animation Company, whose heavy-hitter client list included DreamWorks, Disney, Warner Bros. and Scholastic Entertainment.

DreamWorks Animation (Los Angeles, California, 818-695-5000): Kelley Avery is stepping into a newly created role at DreamWorks Animation as worldwide head of franchise strategy and distribution. She’ll be overseeing development of the studio’s global franchise plans, including new product and biz initiatives, content distribution on physical and digital platforms, and DWA’s existing home entertainment business as the company looks to extend its brands beyond the screen to TV, live stage productions, online and exclusive DVD content. Avery has more than 25 years of experience under her belt, most recently as president of worldwide home entertainment for Paramount Pictures.

E1 Entertainment (London, England, 44-207-907-3773): Ami Dieckman has joined E1 Entertainment in London as the company’s licensing manager for film brands. Deickman is charged with developing the licensing and promo potential of E1′s film portfolio, which includes The Twilight Saga trilogy. She was last at TV-Loonland as a brand and licensing manager, working on preschool property Little Princess.

Hasbro Studios (Pawtucket, Rhode Island, 401-727-5000): Joining the growing executive team at the new Hasbro Studios is Kathy Samuels as executive producer. Having served as an SVP at CBS Television Distribution Group and NBC, Samuels’ pre-Hasbro resumé includes overseeing the development, launch and programming of such shows as Rachael Ray, Entertainment Tonight and The Insider. Her new role will see her managing production on a number of the studio’s creative initiatives, covering a variety of program genres.

HIT Entertainment (London, England, 44-207-554-2500): Joining HIT’s ranks is Sangeeta Desai, who’s taking on the newly created role of COO. Based in London, Desai is supervising the company’s daily operations, including business development, global brand management, consumer products, live events, marketing communications and creative resources. She comes to the company as a principal from private equity firm (and HIT owner) Apax Partners, where she handled sourcing, evaluating and executing on investments in the global media sector, mainly in entertainment and TV production.

Turner CN Enterprises (London, England, 44-207-693-1000): Two new execs are joining the Turner team to expand merch and home entertainment efforts for Turner Broadcasting EMEA. Stefano Salis comes aboard TBS Italia as territory manager for Italy based in Milan, with experience from his previous role at Jetix Consumer Products. He’ll be managing the development of Turner CN Enterprises licensing programs in Italy, working with newly appointed licensing assistant Margherita Vecchio. And moving over from HIT Entertainment to take the post of territory manager for Central and Eastern Europe, Greece and Turkey is Lindsay Pearl.

The Walt Disney Company (Burbank, California, 818-560-3173): Carolina Lightcap has been tapped to take on the role of Disney Channels Worldwide president. She succeeds Rich Ross, who stepped into the post of chairman of Disney’s film division earlier this fall. With more than 20 years in the media and entertainment biz, Lightcap comes to her new position from within the House of Mouse as SVP of programming and creative affairs for DC Latin America and CMO of the LatAm division. She’ll be relocating from Buenos Aires to the Burbank offices. Meanwhile, DCW president of entertainment Gary Marsh is adding chief creative officer to his title and will be responsible for program development, creative and production. And with a dozen years of creative experience under his belt, Kevin Gamble is joining the team as VP of development for Disney Television Animation. Gamble will spearhead development and production of new animated shorts and series for kids, tweens and families slated for Disney Channel, Disney XD and other platforms. He’ll also oversee recruitment of new artists, directors and writers, collaborating with the talent and music departments. He most recently worked at New York-based Classic Media, where he served as VP of production and creative.